Various communication services exist that enable users to establish private conversations between them, over a network such as the Internet. Examples include IM (instant messaging) chat services, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services, picture messaging services, video messaging services and/or voice messaging services. In an IM chat conversation for example, a user can send a textual message to the one or more other users involved in the conversation. In a VoIP conversation (a call), a user can stream live voice and/or video to the other users in the conversation. In a picture messaging conversation, a user can send a still image to the other users in the conversation, while in a video messaging conversation a user can send a video clip, and in a voice messaging conversation a user can leave a (non-live) voice clip.
VoIP communications continue to evolve and can provide a desirable and efficient way for parties to communicate with one another. In particular, VoIP calls that include a video element in which calling parties see one another can provide an intimate and desirable experience.
VoIP communications continue to have barriers that affect the extent to which many users engage with them. For example, consider the case where a video communication is desired using, for example, VoIP. In order to have such a video communication, both parties in a video communication are typically on the line at the same time. This can present problems particularly across varying time zones. In addition, video communications using VoIP generally need high-end computing devices with fairly high bandwidth network connections. Even if these challenges are met, there still may be problems in connecting video calls and sustaining the calls for any period of time.
Further, in communication applications in which the only modality is video-based communications, or when a user prefers using video-based communications, occasions may arise when a user has received a video message or has been unable to answer a video call and wishes to reply with a video-based response. However, the user may be in a situation or environment in which they are unable or uncomfortable in responding using video recorded in that situation or environment. For example, the user might be in a public place, in a meeting, in a noisy environment, on public transport, or in an environment that has low light levels and is currently unsuitable for capturing video. Equally, a user may wish to acknowledge, respond and/or pass comment on a received video but be unable to quickly think of something creative enough to record as a video message or not have sufficiently interesting surrounding content to record as a unique new video message and send as a response.
Other communication and social network services have created lightweight ways for users to quickly acknowledge and respond to other users' messages or posts. For example, emoticons such as smileys, (bowing) or (star) are often used. These responses are “ready-made”, usually graphical, responses offered by the application, which the user can selectively and manually use to acknowledge, confirm and/or approve of messages. They differ from read receipts which are automatically applied by the system and applied equally to all messages, for example, by virtue of the user opening the application and/or the conversation involved.